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How the years go by...

"How the years go by". That was my feeling as i sat there witnessing my sister get hitched. It was nothing short of surreal... Not too long ago we fought as children. We shared a bedroom at one point. We went to school together. Snuck out together. Now we are no longer children...

Perhaps she shared that exact feeling over ten years ago as she witnessed me say my wedding vows in that charming little church in San Antonio, Texas. I remember it like it was just yesterday. She cried the most. Me, I didn't cry at her wedding at all but it certainly was lovely and a most momentous occasion not only for her but for my family. Perhaps the pastor's unorthodox style and sometimes misplaced humor had something to with it? Maybe... I think everyone who was in attendance that day would agree that the ceremony almost veered away from traditional. He just seemed to put his own twist on most if not all of the wedding segments that should always and forever remain unchanged. I think clearly (and traditionally) the best way or perhaps the ONLY way to say "You may kiss the bride" is, well, just that "You may kiss the bride". I feel the same way about "I now pronounce you Husband & Wife" and "Speak now or forever hold your peace". Besides why would anyone try to change it? I mean it's perfect in every sense, isn't it? It's like the Knighthood ceremony if you will. "I now dub thee, Sir Knight!". "Our sword, Lightning, and by all that you hold sacred, true, and holy... Once for Honor... Twice for Duty... Thrice for Chivalry... Arise, Sir".... It's perfect.

I have to commend my mom for all of her tireless efforts in preparation for this wedding. And I think it turned out great! It was as beautiful as it was heartfelt and fun i must say. Behind the scenes though, she was very very critical. And understandably so. I mean one has only one shot to get it right, correct? Especially because my sister's approach towards planning her own wedding was so nonchalant (I expected that from her though lol). And forget about Jee, all he knew was that he had to show up that day! (lol). My mom must have changed the seating arrangements 30 times over even at my persistent dissuasion. People will moved around anyhow, so as long as there are enough seats she really had nothing to worry about. I think she met and fired like three or four florists too.

To add to her stress, people who were not necessarily in the wedding were pinning corsages on their jacket lapels. I really thought she was going to start snatching them off people at some point. Then when she was able to secure the remaining corsages, she noticed that i had lost mine. Suffice it to say she was not very happy. But in my defense i said it must not have been pinned right. Yup, pinning the blame on my poor aunt (No pun intended). But there's a wildly hilarious story behind the real reason why i had lost my corsage. You see amidst the corsage chaos, i was running around outside of the Hotel waiting for a bridesmaids mom to drop off her dress top. With grandchild in tow. Yes you read that right! One of the bridesmaids had actually forgotten part of her dress. Bwuhahahah! I had never seen someone in such a heightened panicked state until that moment. It was funny! Can you imagine that? So there she was minutes away from partaking in a sacred ceremony painstakingly planned over a span of several months that cost thousands and thousands of dollars, only to realize she was about to ruin it. The whole thing was tragically beautiful...

Speaking of beauty, how beautiful was Nols that evening? Man she was striking!

The rest of the evening was eventful and uneventfully traditional. Well at least in the Filipino sense. Among many others there was my favorite the father and daughter dance which i thought was sort of brief. But thats okay. I guess those aren't suppose to last for the whole duration of the song anyway. And i think that is a good thing. I'm pretty sure my parents were a little bummed but had become wholeheartedly amenable to the fact that it wasn't going to be a Church Wedding (I myself wanted that). That's why i thought it was important to have this rather untraditional couple to have a somewhat traditional wedding.

Posted by: Marc Gabay
Thursday, January 03, 2008